Mantis stayed where he was after Neil turned away.
He wasn't moving with the easy acceptance of someone who had received a clean refusal and was ready to leave, he was standing there with the particular stillness of a man who had exhausted most of his options and was staring at the last one.
"If you help us," he said, "I will owe you a personal favor, not as a formality but as a genuine debt I will honor without condition whenever you choose to call it in."
Neil looked at him over his shoulder.
"What exactly would I do with your favor?" he said. "What is it worth to me practically?"
"I have resources, connections, and influence across half the settlements in this region," Mantis said. "I am not someone who forgets what he owes."
"I don't need any of that," Neil said.
Mantis was quiet for a moment.
"Then tell me what you do need," he said. "Whatever it is, I will find a way to get it."
Neil turned around fully and looked at him.
